Mauritanian Economist Chosen President of the African Development Bank

At the bank’s annual meeting in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Thursday, Sidi Ould Tah, a former finance minister of Mauritania, was chosen. He succeeds Nigerian economist Akinwumi Adesina, who will leave office in September after serving the maximum of two five-year terms.

Tah has worked in international and African finance for more than 35 years. “He led a complete transformation that quadrupled the Bank’s balance sheet, secured a AAA rating, and positioned it among the top-rated development banks focused on Africa during his ten-year tenure as president of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) beginning in 2015,” the bank said in a press release Thursday.

The others were Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala (South Africa), Mahamat Abbas Tolli (Chad), Samuel Maimbo (Zambia), and Amadou Hott (Senegal). Tah will be eligible to run for reelection once his five-year mandate expires on September 1, 2025. His victory coincides with African countries facing reduced infrastructure loans and expenditures from China and assistance freezes and cuts from Washington.

At a time when interest rates are still high, Washington’s proposed trade penalties have also weakened investor confidence, increasing the cost of debt service for African borrowers. In order to win, the candidate must receive at least 50.01% of the vote.

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